Do Sunflowers Dry Nicely?

Harvesting Seed Sunflowers

• Large-flowered sunflowers originated as a North American crop used for millennia by American Indians. Annual sunflowers grow quickly, with tall cultivars growing as high as 15 feet and producing flower heads 12 inches across. Sunflowers are mature and ready for harvest when the backs of the flower heads turn from green to yellow and the flower heads begin to droop somewhat. At that point, the bracts that surround the petals usually are turning brown, and about 30 to 45 days have gone by since the sunflowers started to bloom.

Drying Flower Heads

• One way to harvest and dry the flower heads is to leave a 2-inch-long stem on each one and dry the flower heads upside down in a dry, well-ventilated place such as an attic, garage or shed. Another option is to leave the flower heads on the plants and cover them with old pantyhose, a mesh produce bag or cheesecloth so birds and other wildlife don't eat the seeds. Remove a flower head's seeds when the back of the flower turns brown. An alternative is to place whole, dry flower heads at bird-feeding stations and allow birds to harvest the seeds.

Air-Drying Ornamentals

• If you want an informal effect, dry ornamental sunflowers in small bunches that hang downward. In that method, the petals curl somewhat, and the stems stay straight. Sunflower heads to be dried in that way should be harvested early in a day but after dew dries. Select freshly opened sunflowers with no broken or missing petals. An airy, dry, shady area such as an attic, shed, spare bedroom or garage can be used to dry them. Arrange strings or wires where they won't prove a hazard in the drying location, fasten several flower heads together with a rubber band and hang the bundle upside down from a string or wire. Usually, the flowers dry in three days to three weeks, depending on their size, how closely flower head bundles are spaced and climate conditions.

Using Desiccants

• A variety of desiccants, or drying materials, can be used to preserve the sunflowers. The drying materials include borax, sand and kitty litter, also known as cat box filler. Although more expensive than those options, silica gel gives dried sunflowers an appearance that most closely resembles fresh sunflowers in color and form. Silica gel can be reused time after time.

  After finding freshly opened, undamaged, dry sunflowers, cut each flower head so it has a 2-inch-long stem. Add a wire through the center of all the flowers so you can attach a wire stem to the dried flowers for arranging them.

  If you wish to use silica gel to dry sunflowers, put a layer of it in a shallow container, and place one sunflower in the container so the flower's stem end is down and the silica gel supports the flower's back. More sunflowers can be placed in the container in the same manner. Gently sift silica gel gradually over each flower, filling between each petal so the petals are supported in the flower's natural shape. Depending on their size, flowers usually take two to seven days to dry in silica gel, and they need to be checked for dryness every few days. When the sunflowers are dry, gently pour off the silica gel and carefully turn the sunflowers over, shaking and tapping the back of the flowers to remove all the silica gel. The flowers should be stored in a closed plastic box that is put in a dry, dark place. In order to use the flowers in arrangements, add an appropriate length of wire stem to the wire in the center of each flower.